Wind Turbine Payback in Washington County, OH
Wind turbine payback in Washington County
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Washington County, OH averages 3.27 m/s (7.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,471 kWh a year, worth $653 at OH's 18.81¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Washington County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Washington County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.9 m/s at the hub against 3.27 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,136 kWh a year here against the turbine's 347, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 144¢/kWh, 7.7 times what OH pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.9 m/s instead of 3.27. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OH
Washington County is the 2,787th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OH is Lake County at 6.53 m/s, payback 23 years.
Month by month in Washington County
January is the strongest month here, at 3.83 m/s and about 490 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.50 m/s and 114 kWh, so the best month makes 4.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Washington County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.83 m/s | 490 kWh | $92 |
| February | 3.94 m/s | 481 kWh | $90 |
| March | 3.82 m/s | 484 kWh | $91 |
| April | 3.77 m/s | 451 kWh | $85 |
| May | 3.09 m/s | 245 kWh | $46 |
| June | 2.80 m/s | 168 kWh | $32 |
| July | 2.55 m/s | 123 kWh | $23 |
| August | 2.50 m/s | 114 kWh | $21 |
| September | 2.76 m/s | 160 kWh | $30 |
| October | 3.20 m/s | 275 kWh | $52 |
| November | 3.42 m/s | 329 kWh | $62 |
| December | 3.54 m/s | 382 kWh | $72 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Washington County averages 1.97 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.13 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.460, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,820 to 7,248 kWh a year, 298% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower. Why tower height decides it explains the shear behind these numbers.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 2.71 m/s | 1,820 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.27 m/s | 3,454 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.73 m/s | 5,284 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.13 m/s | 7,248 kWh | 73 years |
Counties around Washington County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Noble County, averages 3.38 m/s.
- Wood County, WV: 3.19 m/s, 3,198 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Pleasants County, WV: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Noble County, OH: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Morgan County, OH: 3.31 m/s, 3,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Monroe County, OH: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Ritchie County, WV: 3.19 m/s, 3,198 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Washington County
Washington County gets 3.89 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,136 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 347. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.3 times as much here as the turbine. Panel output assumes an 80% system performance ratio. Wind or solar runs the same comparison for every county.
How this is worked out
Wind is NASA's Power climate record, the 2001-2025 average at 10 m and 50 m for the county's centre, carried to 30 m with this county's own measured wind shear and spread into hours with a Rayleigh distribution. The turbine is a generic 10 kW, 7 m rotor machine with 10% losses. Cost is $10,000 per kW installed with no tax credit, because the federal one ended in 2025. One county-centre number cannot see your hilltop or your tree line, so treat it as the starting point for a site survey, not a substitute. The full method and its weak spots are in how the numbers are made.